Charities announce asthma collaboration

LifeArc, a medical research charity, has signed an agreement to review Asthma UK’s research portfolio, aiming to identify promising projects and results which are most suited to development into treatments.

LifeArc will also advise on strategies to deliver that development. LifeArc’s expertise in intellectual property (IP) protection, development and management will allow Asthma UK to translate its research funding into the maximum benefit for patients.

Dr Erika Kennington, Head of Research at Asthma UK

Dr Erika Kennington, Head of Research at Asthma UK, said:

“An estimated 5.4million people in the UK live with asthma, and despite the prevalence of the condition, there is still much that isn’t understood. Asthma can leave people gasping for breath and at risk of a potentially life-threatening asthma attack. Research enables a better understanding of the causes and treatment of asthma and is vital to help us find a cure.

“That is why we are delighted to work with Lifearc to ensure our funded research can inform the development of new treatments and transform the lives of people living with asthma. We hope that this will bring us one step closer to preventing asthma attacks and curing asthma.”

“As a charity itself, LifeArc strives to find treatments in areas where there is an unmet patient need. We are pleased to support Asthma UK in their ultimate aim of curing asthma.”

Initially, LifeArc will review Asthma UK’s existing portfolio of research projects and identify those with the highest potential to help people with asthma. In addition to this portfolio review, LifeArc will also offer Asthma UK expertise in technology transfer and licensing, helping to maximise the patient impact of the charity’s research investment.

Asthma UK plays a significant role in funding world-leading research at the cutting-edge of science, understanding the biology of asthma, improving the diagnosis and care that people with asthma receive, working towards better treatments and, eventually, to a cure. In particular Asthma UK funds; early stage laboratory-based science at The Asthma UK Centre in Allergic Mechanisms of Asthma; applied research at The Asthma UK Centre for Applied Research; and a wide variety of individual research projects.

LifeArc is the new name for MRC Technology, a medical research charity with over 25 years experience in helping scientists and organisations turn their research into useful diagnostics and treatments. LifeArc collaborates with a wide range of life science charities and other partners. In addition to portfolio review, IP protection, technology transfer and licensing LifeArc also offers its partners expertise in; early-stage research funding, diagnostics development, drug discovery, scientific scouting, campaigning, drug discovery pipeline, in vitro diagnostics and antibody engineering.